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Boban Marjanovic may no longer be a Clipper, but he took full advantage of his time in Los Angeles by landing a role in one of the biggest films of the 2019 summer, John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum.
The story of how Boban ended up in the latest installment of the film franchise, as reported by Ben Cohen of The Wall Street Journal, is really wonderful and fully in line with what you’d expect from the lovable behemoth.
The director of the film, Chad Stahelski, was looking for someone for the opening fight scene who was “a cross between Andre the Giant and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar”, someone who “who was fun and interesting and yet gigantic.” He wasn’t sure if such a person actually existed.
Luckily, one of his producers was able to steer him in the right direction, which led to this incredible exchange:
He mentioned his seemingly impossible quest to one of his producers. Basil Iwanyk happened to be a Los Angeles Clippers fan, and his years of experience watching far too much basketball was finally about to come in handy. He knew there was exactly one man for the job.
”You need to get Boban,” Iwaynyk told Stahelski.
”What’s a Boban?”
Boban didn’t know why he was recruited for the role, but he had a theory of his own when pressed by the reporter.
“They didn’t tell me,” he said. “But I figured out it was because of my size. And because of my good-looking.”
I don’t want to spoil all the details about Boban’s preparation, his ability to handle stunt work, the challenge it was for him to play a villain, and his interactions with Keanu Reeves. Check out the full story for the rest of that.
Boban was hoping not to make it to the premiere in Los Angeles, given that the Eastern Conference Finals started yesterday. However, circumstances allowed him to attend, and he was able to bring his best friend Tobias Harris, who was definitely most excited to meet Halle Berry.
It is lovely to see Boban and Tobias back in Los Angeles enjoying themselves, even if it isn’t as members of the Clippers.